Electrician Achieves New Personal Record: Drops Fish Tape Down Wall Cavity on First Try

Journeyman electrician Neil Conduit reportedly accomplished the impossible on a residential job Wednesday when his fish tape descended a 12-foot interior wall cavity and emerged at the bottom outlet box on the very first attempt. Conduit stood motionless for several seconds after the tape appeared, according to his apprentice, who described the moment as 'like watching someone land a hole-in-one, except with a tool that has never once cooperated with any human being.' 'I fed it in at the top and gave it a little twist,' Conduit said, his voice still carrying traces of disbelief. 'And it just... went straight down. No snagging on fire blocks. No getting tangled on insulation. No disappearing into an adjacent stud bay to taunt me. It just went where I wanted it to go.' The achievement is remarkable given that fish tape is widely regarded by the electrical trade as the most willfully disobedient tool in existence. A 2024 survey by Electrical Contractor Magazine found that the average electrician spends 23 minutes per fish tape attempt, with 68 percent of respondents reporting they have 'spoken to the tape in anger' and 14 percent admitting to 'throwing it.' 'I've been doing this for 19 years,' said Conduit's foreman, Arlene Bushing. 'I've never seen a clean first-try drop. I assumed it was physically impossible, like cold fusion or a dry crawl space.' Conduit has submitted documentation of the feat to the IBEW Local 134 records committee. He has also announced his retirement from fish taping, stating he wants to 'go out on top.'